Beating up the BBC
A GROUP of 72 MPs have condemned the BBC for its “unfair” and “pessimistic” coverage of Brexit.
Northumberland MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan was one of those criticising the broadcaster.
They signed a letter demanding BBC managers “take steps to correct these flaws in the BBC’s coverage of our EU exit”.
But the MPs came under fire from Labour, which demanded that Prime Minister Theresa May step in to defend the BBC’s independence.
The letter, sent to BBC Director General Tony Hall, said the BBC has fallen “far short” of its obligation to provide balanced coverage, warning “if politicians and the public don’t view it as an impartial broker, then the future of the BBC will be in doubt”. The MPs claimed the BBC had “skewed” good economic news since the June referendum, adding: “So-called ‘despite Brexit’ reporting may be expected of a partisan press, but licence fee-payers have the right to expect better.”
They added: “The BBC has a much larger market share than any newspaper – it runs the most-used news website in the country, on top of its television and radio coverage.
“This, as well as viewers’ belief in its neutrality, means that BBC bias can have a substantial effect on the national debate.
“BBC coverage also shapes international perceptions of the UK: we fear that, by misrepresenting our country either as xenophobic or regretful of the Leave vote, the BBC will undermine our efforts to carve out a new, global role for this country. We are therefore asking you to take steps to correct these flaws in the BBC’s coverage of our EU exit at the earliest moment.”
Most of the MPs signing it were Conservatives, but three Labour MPs, eight DUP MPs, two DUP peers and UKIP’s only MP, Douglas Carswell, also added their names. Mrs Trevelyan said the MPs wanted the BBC to give both sides of the story. She said: “Why is it that the BBC are always so negative? We want our major broadcasters to look at all sides of the question. Too often, they will give air time to the negative side of the argument and not look at the alternative views.
“Now that we are at the point of actually triggering article 50, we felt there was a need to highlight that we feel they are not giving a balanced position.
“Brexit is what this nation is going to do, and therefore such an important broadcaster needs to ensure they are giving a fair and balanced perspective and the arguments on all sides.”
But Tom Watson, Labour’s Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, said Mrs May and the Government’s Culture Secretary, Karen Bradley, should defend the BBC. He said: “All politicians sometimes dislike the way some stories are covered, but we should never seek to interfere with the independence of the BBC by publicly accusing it of bias and making implicit threats about its future.
“Theresa May and Karen Bradley must make clear their commitment to the independence of the BBC and distance themselves from attacks on it by politicians who have an agenda the BBC does not and should not share.”
The BBC dismissed the criticism, saying in a statement: “While we are always live to our critics and understand that passions are running high on all sides of the debate, it is the job of the BBC to scrutinise and analyse the issues on behalf of the public and to hold politicians to account across the political spectrum.”